Lady Bulldogs power past Worland for conference win
Coming off a strong performance at the Big Horn Basin Classic, the Lovell Lady Bulldogs jumped back into conference play with a 45-18 win over Worland on the road Thursday night.
The win was the only game for the Lovell squad on the weekend and evened their record in the 3A Northwest at 1-1.
Points were hard to come by for both teams in the first half as the two teams struggled to hit shots. Neither team scored in the first quarter until the 4:25 mark when senior Kennadee Owens converted a fast break. A bucket by senior Libby Mickelson and an inside basket by Owens put Lovell up 6-0, and the Lady Bulldogs had a shutout until Worland finally scored with 50 seconds left in the first quarter. Lovell led 6-2 after one.
A steal and basket by Worland sparkplug Kathya Navarro cut the Lovell lead to 6-4 early in the second quarter, but Lovell outscored the home team 7-1 the rest of the quarter to lead 13-5 at halftime in what could only be termed an ugly first half. Brooklin Clark had two baskets during the quarter for Lovell.
“We weren’t moving the ball well and weren’t getting it inside,” Lovell coach Brian May said. “We got plenty of perimeter shots and got some good looks, but they wouldn’t fall.”
May was pleased with his team’s defense, however.
“We emphasized to be physical and stay in front of people,” he said. “We wanted to make them use their weak hand, though we did have to make some adjustments when they (referees) started calling hand checks. I said to give a little more space so we weren’t as tight but tight enough so kids couldn’t get around us.”
The Lady Bulldogs finally heated up in the third quarter and did so in a big way, outscoring Worland 21-7 to lead 34-12 heading into the fourth quarter. Worland traded baskets early in the quarter, trailing 17-9, but the Lady Bulldogs went on an 11-0 tear sparked by a pretty assist from Becca Nichols to Mickelson and three-pointers by senior guards Kenadee Rael and Raegan May.
“We tried to adjust our formula against the zone to emphasize getting the ball into the post,” May said. “The posts did a good job working together inside, plus kicking it out to the shooters. We also attacked the basket more and got to the foul line.”
Lovell took the fourth quarter 11-6 to win 45-18 as Rael hit three more baskets in the period.
“We were excited about that conference win,” May said.
Mickelson led the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points, and May said it was good to see the senior be more aggressive on offense. Rael and Owens added 9 points each, Clark 7, May 5 and Nichols and Breeah Jones 2 apiece. Jones led the team with nine rebounds and five assists, and Mickelson and May snared six rebounds apiece.
Now 8-5 on the season, 1-1 in the 3A Northwest, the Lady Bulldogs have a big conference game tonight (Thursday) in Powell with tip-off times of 4 (junior varsity) and 5:30 p.m.
“Powell has some really quick players, and we don’t want to allow them to get to the basket or kick out to shooters,” May said. “If we can limit dribble penetration and their three-point shots we’ll be able to keep it close.”
Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs will travel to Thermopolis with tap times at 11:30 a.m. (JV) and 1 p.m. A planned freshman game has been cancelled.
Lovell will then travel to Pinedale and Lander February 7-8 and Cody on February 14 before finally playing another home game against Worland on Saturday, Feb. 15, making it a full month between games at Winterholler Gym.